Michael Bailey Law, LLC

Meeting in-person (w/ proper social distancing) and Zoom

720-730-7274
  • Home
  • About
    • Partners
  • PRACTICE AREAS
    • Estate Planning
    • Special Needs Trusts
    • Educational Trusts
    • Pet Trusts
      • Saying Goodbye
      • Blog #1
      • Blog #2
    • VA Benefits
  • Blog
  • Radio Shows
  • Contact
    • Law Office Locations (15)
    • Refer Michael
  • Book
  • Toggle Mobile Menu
  • Toggle Search
  • 720-730-7274
  • Google Plus
  • RSS
  • Email

Estate Planning: No Laughing Matter, Or is It?

One of my guiding business philosophies comes from the great philosopher Bugs Bunny “You can’t take life too seriously.  You will never get out of it alive.” I attribute this quote to Bugs Bunny because I recall having seen him say it once, but it is possible that the sentiment comes from somewhere else.  I suppose many quotes are like that, you hear them from one person, or source, but they were originally from somewhere else.  I still like to give Bugs Bunny the credit.

I have been told that I have a dry sense of humor.  I admit that is true.  I use humor in a lot of different situations to lighten the mood and make weighty things more fun.  Especially in estate planning, where I talk about death and dying – and planning ahead for such things – I find a little levity is allowed.  I could only imagine how sad and depressing my work would be if I just had to talk about death and dying every day.  Humor is often a way of dealing with difficult situations, and I use humor to set my clients at ease, to enliven the process of estate planning, and to help me enjoy my job.

 

Turning Tragedy Into Comedy

I have had many clients who face difficult circumstances in life.  One such client had almost become a surrogate grandmother to me. She was upset at me for about 6 months after my youngest child was born because I did not visit her, and she wanted to meet the new baby.  She always referred to me as her family, even though she only had daughters. Not all my clients are that close, but she was an awesome one.

She had a series of three minor strokes during the fall and winter a few years ago.  I went to visit her after the second stroke, and she said to me, “Oh, Michael, I am so glad you came to visit me.  I remembered you, but I forgot how you looked. Now I know again.” I thought that was a nice sentiment.

As I visited her, we talked about revising her estate plan, and then we got on the subject of the rehab center where she was staying.  Although we both decided it was an OK place to be in rehab, we took turns coming up with silly ways it was not a long term answer. She was laughing so much that we had to take a few minutes to breathe.  As I left she thanked me for coming and said, “Thanks for the laughs. My family is so concerned about me that it drags me down sometimes. I just needed a laugh.” Laughter was the best medicine that day.  My client who had just come through a tough medical situation could laugh with me and forget the difficulties of life for a few moments – and we got her estate planning updated too.

 

Important, but Not Fun…or Fun, and Important?

Estate planning is often not the thing people want to be doing.  I will admit that working with me is not as fun as most other activities.  What I do is important, not necessarily fun. I do try to change that, at least a little bit.  I find a bit of levity makes the process go more smoothly. Like Mary Poppins, where “A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down,” a small dose of humor makes the estate planning process go better.

I often will relate a humorous story in my appointments.  I then remind people that I take my job seriously, but not myself.  Most people seem to get this, but not one gentleman. This particular client was very put off that I would joke about death, because it was “serious business” and I should act “more professional” in what I did.  I asked him what he thought I should be like and he said I should be more like a doctor who had to deliver bad news to a family. I couldn’t help myself and said, “But, I don’t want to be a doctor, I would rather be grim, like the grim reaper.”  He stifled his laugh, admitted that was good, and we ended up working well together.  A little humor helped him be at ease through the estate planning process.

OK, So Maybe it is for Me, Too

As a final note, I like to have some fun in my work.  I look for opportunities to be funny and to inject some humor, especially if it is humor that lifts up my clients and makes them feel better.  I had a client who was convinced they were going to die soon. I asked them what their medical problem was, and the client said, “I am just wearing out.”  I reminded the client that they were only 79 and that I would only consider them old when they reached 100. I did not want to hear about being old until the client was 100.  We followed this up with a discussion of how I was young, so I didn’t understand. Using sarcasm to my advantage, I mentioned my disappointment that my client could not share the wisdom of being 79 with me, since the client was dying soon – the client was not actually dying, just convinced the end was near.

I asked for “life advice,” but mentioned it might be too late since the client was convinced they were going to die soon.  I lamented the loss of knowing what their life was like and how I would not appreciate it if the client could not tell me about the client’s life.  A smile flickered across the client’s face as the client said to me, “You wait. I will get you yet!” I said, “only if you are around to get me,” and the client left.  That was 6 years ago — the client is still trying to make me laugh. We both were happier for the laugh and by keeping the work light hearted it allowed us to better accomplish the important work necessary on that day.

 

Let’s Laugh and Plan Together

I like to laugh, and I have found the right way to laugh while dealing with the serious and weighty matters of planning for death and assets to be distributed after death.  I find it helps me get along with most people. And, as I tell clients, I am a sit down comedian, because apparently I am not that funny when I stand up.  So, let’s try it out. Come meet with me and get your estate plan done, and let’s laugh together along the way!

 

 

 

11001 W. 120th Ave. Suite 400
Broomfield, CO 80021

15 Other Locations

Next Post »
«Previous Post

About Michael Bailey

Michael Bailey has practiced in the Denver, Colorado area since he became a licensed attorney specializing in estate planning, and tax law as it relates to estate planning. He is a member of the Colorado Bar Association, and a member of the Trust and Estates section and Elder Law section, as well as the Denver Bar Association.

Comments

  1. Alisha Ross says

    May 25, 2020 at 10:05 pm

    Great post. I was checking constantly this weblog and I am inspired!
    Extremely useful information specially the ultimate section 🙂 I deal with such information a lot.
    I was looking for this particular info for a long time.
    Thanks and best of luck.

  2. Alisha Ross says

    September 17, 2020 at 11:11 pm

    There are certainly a lot of details like that to take into consideration. That is a great point to bring up. I offer the thoughts above as general inspiration but clearly there are questions like the one you bring up where the most important thing will be working in honest good faith. I don?t know if best practices have emerged around things like that, but I am sure that your job is clearly identified as a fair game. Both boys and girls feel the impact of just a moment’s pleasure, for the rest of their lives.

Michael Bailey Law, Estate Planning attorney Denver Office Hours
Monday-Friday 9:00am - 5:00pm

Michael Bailey Law
11001 W. 120th Ave. Suite 400
Broomfield, CO 80021

Other Locations

Contact
720-730-7274 (phone)
720-247-9056 (fax)
michael @ michaelbaileylawllc.com
We Appreciate Your Reviews
Follow Us on Google+

Follow our Updates!

Tweet to @Michael11506 Tweets by @Michael11506

Recent Posts

The Estate Plan MVP 🏆

Basketball and Estate Planning – Why Perspective Matters

Michael Bailey, As Heard On

KLZ-560100v2
wcmember

Get Started With A Free Consultation

Please consult an attorney for advice about your individual situation. This site and its information is not legal advice, nor is it intended to be. Feel free to get in touch by electronic mail, letters or phone calls. Contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship. Until an attorney-client relationship is established, please withhold from sending any confidential information to us.

Website created just for Michael Bailey Law, LLC by Personable Media

View our Privacy Policy

Law Office Locations

Aurora
6105 S. Main Street, Suite 200
Aurora, Colorado 80016

Boulder
4845 Pearl East Circle, Suite 101
Boulder, Colorado 80301

Broomfield
11001 West 120th Ave, Suite 400
Broomfield, Colorado 80021

Cherry Creek
501 S. Cherry St., Suite 1100
Cherry Creek, CO 80246

Denver Metro North/Northglenn
11990 Grant Street, Suite 550
Northglenn, CO 80233

Fort Collins
2580 East Harmony Road, Suite 201
Fort Collins, Colorado 80528

Greenwood Village
7350 East Progress Place, Suite 100
Greenwood Village, Colorado 80111

Golden
14143 Denver West Parkway, Suite 100
Golden, Colorado 80401

Lakewood
355 S. Teller Street, Suite 200
Lakewood, Colorado 80226

Littleton
4 W. Dry Creek, Suite 100
Littleton, CO 80120

Louisville
357 S. McCaslin Blvd, Suite 200
Louisville, Colorado 80027

Lone Tree
9233 Park Meadows Drive
Lone Tree, Colorado 80124

South Hover Longmont
1079 S. Hover Street, Suite 200
Longmont, CO 80501

Schedule An Appointment

Pick The Time For Your Callback. Schedule Your Call Now ⬇️

Your ebook will be emailed shortly.

Michael Bailey will reach out to you shortly.

Download the checklist

Schedule An Appointment